Home Prices in DC Proper Drop (Barely) in April as Sales Fall

• May 10, 2017

by Nena Perry-Brown

A Palisades home that went under contract in April.

For months, the regional housing market has been marked by a shrinking inventory and rising prices. However, last month’s market was far less predictable, with the District’s market cooling down slightly compared to that of the larger area.

Showing Time RBI’s April report out Wednesday morning states that home sales dropped throughout the region last month, and rather than being an anomaly in this dynamic, sales in DC proper actually saw the largest drop, dipping by 10.5 percent year-over-year.

April 2017 sales by jurisdiction

Similarly, the median sales price in the District bucked regional trends, sliding to $519,950 from $525,000 a year ago. In contrast, the area median sales price for April hit a 10-year high at $436,500 — a roughly 4 percent increase both from March and year-over-year. If the number of days on the market is any indicator, prospective homebuyers may be more comfortable expanding their search outside the city, as the region has caught up with DC proper’s median of 10 days on the market.

April sales and median prices

Here are some other region-wide statistics on April’s market:

• Although sales are down, inventory still shrank by 14 percent year-over-year in April, marking the 12th consecutive month of year-over-year declines and the lowest April since 2014.
• All categories of housing saw double-digit decreases in active inventory year-over-year (down 17.3 percent for condos, down 14.9 percent for townhouses and down 12.2 percent for single-family detached houses).

Data provided by ShowingTime RBI based on listing activity from MRIS. RBI defines the DC metropolitan area as including: Washington, D.C.; Montgomery County and Prince George’s County in Maryland; and Alexandria City, Arlington County, Fairfax County, Fairfax City, and Falls Church City in Virginia.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/april_med_sales_price_dc_proper_drops_barely/12549